Process of coating meats.



sure STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MITCHELL, OF AYR, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE ANGLO-AMERICAN PROVISION COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROC'E/SS OF COATING MEATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,118, dated July 17, 1900.

Application filed December 12, 1898.

To all whom zit may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN MITCHELL, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Ayr, in the county of Ayr, Scotland, have invented a new and useful protective covering for hog products, preserved meats, pre-.. served fruits, and other putrescible substances, (for which I have obtained provisional protection in Great Britain, No. 21,349, dated October 11, 1898,) of which the following is a specification.

Many attempts have been made to provide an impermeable cover or skin for putrescible substances and especially for substances used as food. For certain purposes, such as the closing of vessels in which potted meats, jams, &c., have been placed, various protective and air-tight skins have been applied with a fair measure of success; but in the case of more extensive and less-uniform surfaces than the orifice of a' jar or vessel it has hitherto not been found practicable to apply a preservative skin or coating which shall be at the same time perfectly reliable, free from any poisonous ingredient,sufiiciently inexpensive in the first cost, and capable of being applied with but little trouble. Now my invention provides such a covering, and this covering is applicable to any description of surfaces however complicated, moist, or otherwise difficult of treatment. For instance, I have found my invention of especial service in the preservation of hams, bacon, and the like, whether in the cooked state or mildly cured or otherwise, and experiments with such preserved meats in tropical countries where, 0wing to the prevailing heat and moisture present in the atmosphere, it becomes extremely difficult to retain such goods in proper condition, have demonstrated that the method hereinafter set forth affords a thoroughly-reliable and permanent protection to the articles to which it is applied.

In order more fully to set forth my invention and the way in which the same may be practically carried into efiect, I will describe the same with special reference to the preservation of hams and bacon. As these goods contain a certain amount of natural moisture and also are of a greasy nature, it is first necessary to cover them with a suitable thin pa- Serial N0. 699,095. (No specimgns.)

per, such as tissue-paper prepared to resist moisture by any of the well-known methods. A covering of this tissue-paper is first applied to the surface of the ham or bacon. There is then drawn over the article a cotton fabric consisting of a sleeve or envelop of fine knitted material, such as is already used for cov-,

tion of gelatine and alum. The best practical way of preparing this compound at present known to me is as follows: Clean fresh bones, as free from grease and salt as possible, are placed in a digester of the well-known kind and the gelatine is extracted by superheated steam or the like. The gelatine solution is then evaporated with suitable precautions in an open vessel until the same contains hardly any water. There is then mixed with the same while in the heated state a hot solution of alum in water containing from two to three pounds of alum dissolved in twenty-eight pounds of water or thereabout. The ingredients are mixed in approximately-equal parts of alum solution and of gelatine,and the whole thoroughly intermingled. In certain cases a little harmless coloring-matter may be added to'obtain the desired tintof the skin to be produced. Into this solution while in the hot state the provisions or substances to be protected are dipped. They are then quickly removed and hung up to dry, and when dry are found to be coated with an impervious skin of anti: septic qualities, which is permanently airtight and reasonably resistant to moisture, being, moreover, not in the least hygroscopic, as would be the case withunprepared gelatine. The preservative compound, by reason of its being composed of the gelatine and alum mixed in solution, dries very quickly and becomes hard and tough as it dries, and remains-evenly distributed upon the fabric. This would not be so if the fabric were treated with gelatine and then alum subsequently applied to the gelatine, as has heretofore been proposed. In such case the g'elatine would tine.

be very slow in drying and would not become perfectly dry for a period altogether too long for practical use. It would be'unevenly distributed, and would continue to run to and accumulate at the lowest spot, and, furthermore, the alum subsequently applied would never become thoroughly intermingled with the gelatine, and would have but very little, if any, hardening effect, and this would be confined to the exterior portion of the gela- The covering is, moreover, closely adherent to the provision or substance protected, because any air which may be existing between the covering or the tissue-paper and the article enveloped is expelled by the dipping process. Consequently as long as the skin is preserved uninjured the article within is practically isolated against any influence which can cause decomposition. It is, moreover, found that the operation in no wise injures the. flavor of the articles treated, and, on the contrary, by preserving the natural aroma and moisture of the fresh goods it greatly increases their quantity in respect to flavor, dto, if they have to be kept fora considerable time in an unfavorable climate, as compared with goods kept under ordinary conditions.

Although the proportions above given and the method of effecting the coating arethose which I have found by experiment to best fulfil the purpose in view I wish to state that I give the above by way of example, and that I do not limit myself to the precise proportions and the mode of operation therein stated.-

- Vhat I claim is l. The herein-described process of preserving hog products, and the like, which consists in enveloping the product first in a skin of thin material, and then in a fabric cover; preparing a preservative compound by mixing together gelatine and alum solution in substantially-equal parts; and finally treating the fabric cover with the preservative compound thus prepared.

2. The herein-described process of preserving hog products and the like, which consists I in enveloping the product firstin tissue-paper treated to make it moisture-proof, and then in a fabric cover, preparing a solution of alum in the proportions of from two to three parts of alum to about twenty-eight parts of water by weight, mixing this alum solution with an approximately-equal amount of gelatine when both are in a'heated condition, and treating the fabric cover with the mixture thus made, substantially as described.

A protective and preservative covering for hams and the like, having a layer of absorbent material treated with a previouslyprepared preservative compound consisting essentially of a mixture of gelatine and a solution of alum.

4. A protective and preservative covering for hams and the like, consisting of an inner skin of treated tissue-paper and an outer envelop of fabric treated with a preservative compound consisting essentially of a mixture of about equal parts of gelatine and alum solution, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

J NO. MITCHELL.

Witnesses:

HERBERT SEFTON-J ONES, LEONARD E. HAYNES. 

